


A Familiar Darkness

by Shockwaifu



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21780868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shockwaifu/pseuds/Shockwaifu
Summary: Yuugi was alright.He was never alone anymore.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	A Familiar Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Written sometime in the fall of 2018

Yuugi was alright.

He was never alone anymore.

He no longer had to fear going to bed sad and unfulfilled with nothing but a box full of dreams and a heart full of hope. Now he had friends to share these things, which was all he ever wanted. Now the box was empty, and his hopes and dreams hung proudly around his neck like a medal. He was happy; he truly was. His black eyes were fewer, and each bruise or scuffed knee seemed to hurt less now that he was no longer alone. Aches and pains were so much easier to ignore when there were others to laugh and cry along with him. Trials were so much easier to face when there was someone to stand up for besides himself. For once in his life, he felt like he had people other than his Grandpa on his side, _by _his side, and he would cherish the bond between each one of them for the rest of his days; he was sure of it. The positivity that filled his chest with warmth and his days with meaning was so powerful that he could almost completely overlook the things in his life that didn’t quite add up.__

__Something lingered at the back of his mind like flickering lights at the edge of his vision. It frightened him, not because it was bad, not entirely at least, not because something was wrong, just _off _, the kind of _off _that buzzes in the air at the precipice of an unseasonable storm, unnatural in the most natural way possible. He tried not to dwell on it, or even acknowledge it, but will alone could not dispel it, whatever it was. Therefore, he settled on the next best thing, rationalization, denial. Any time he would black out, he would blame the stress. High school was a stressful time, after all. There was an explanation for every lapse in memory, every coincidence that seemed just a little too perfect. Misplaced items were slips of his mind, not his mind slipping away from him. The string of tragedies befalling those who meant to inflict harm to himself and those closest to him was just karma at work. Bad things happened to bad people; it was only fair, right? He had nothing to do with it, and no reason to feel guilty. The smell of overcooked meat which filled his nose whenever he touched the place on the back of his neck rubbed raw by the cord suspending his treasure meant nothing. He could go to sleep with a clear conscience and when he dreamed of twisted hallways, _ancient, but never dusty, _of doors that led nowhere, _falling, but in every direction at once, _of shadows, _waiting, stretching out in anticipation, _he could tell himself his dreams had always been weird.___________ _

____________In those times where he absolutely could not cobble together some reason plausible enough for his brain to at least pretend to buy into, he did his best to focus on the feeling itself rather than the fear and doubt surrounding it. If he could figure it out, understand it, _solve _it, then maybe he could finally settle into the peace that his wish had given him without that vague sense of restless unease polluting his quieter moments. It was strange, but he could not place it, which bothered him more than the feeling itself. Was it something unnameable, or one whose name had simply been forgotten? He didn’t know, but something told him he should. It was something along the lines of nostalgia or deja vu, but older, a story etched into stone and slowly erased by the sand on the wind. The answer hung just out of reach, fingers just shy of brushing against the shallow indents in the smooth slate, recognizing an empty space but not being able to find the piece that fit there.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________During these times, he would inevitably find himself tracing the pad of his thumb along the edges and seams of the Millennium Puzzle, a mindless, fidgety gesture, sure, but one that seemed to hold a manner of untold significance. For some reason, it just felt right. All those years spent mulling over something said to be impossible, doing the unthinkable, it meant something. Whether by miracle or circumstance, his heart’s desire had been fulfilled, and it would be a shame to waste it on anxious thoughts, it seemed to say, the gold warm like the shoulder of an old friend. Strange, really, he thought, how the object that he was reasonably sure to be the source of his worries was also the thing best at soothing them. All things considered, it wasn’t all that different from a friend, he supposed. On those nights, he would fall asleep with the Puzzle cradled against his heart and his dreams would be filled with dreams of ghosts in strange places and the smiles of his friends._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Yuugi was alright._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________He was never alone anymore._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________From the corner, a familiar darkness hummed a soothing song._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
